A busy weekend for Kinsale RNLI continued on bank holiday Monday (7 June) when the inshore lifeboat launched twice to assist boats in difficulty.
Miss Sally Anne Baggy II - Never Fear, Baggy’s Here launched at 2.45pm to assist the 20ft sailing boat with two people on board, which was taking on water and in danger of sinking off the Old Head of Kinsale.
After assessing the situation, the lifeboat crew transferred one of their number onto the bow of the stricken vessel to raise the hull and slow the ingress of water.
This stabilised the boat, which was taken under tow and brought safely to Kinsale’s main pier.
Lifeboat helm Jonathan Connor said: “The two people on board played it by the book and were able to give the coastguard the necessary information to enable us to quickly find them.
“One had radio training and both were wearing lifejackets, which are essential if you are going on the water.”
A few hours later, the volunteers answered their fourth emergency callout of the bank holiday weekend when the lifeboat was tasked to assist a yacht that had lost its mast.
The inshore lifeboat was on the way at 6pm to assist the 26ft vessel with two people on board just south of the harbour mouth.
After ascertaining that the passengers were uninjured, two lifeboat crew members boarded the yacht and secured the mast before it was safely towed back to Kinsale Harbour.
Kinsale RNLI’s Connor, who was helm on all four callouts over the weekend, added: “We expected the sunny weather and easing of restrictions to bring more people to the Kinsale area, but we were quite surprised to be called out four times in such a short period.”